Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Abbey and Ryan look so happy in this photo.
RIP Ryan, we wish we had gotten to meet you!

I was 12 on November 10th 1975 when the Edmond Fitzgerald sank in the frigid waters of Lake Superior. When the song came out the following year I became obsessed with the wreck. Living in Michigan and making regular trips 'up north' gave it all such an element of tragic excitement. These were the waters that took those men and standing on the shore as the waves crashed on the rocks, you felt the power and the smallness of yourself all at the same time. Driving by the mariners church in Detroit where they rang the bell 29 times for each of the men on the ship, I remember welling up with tears at the thought of their loved ones listening to those bells. Now that I am grown up, living in a place that rivals the fierce majesty of that great lake and being married to a fisherman who has had to be out in stormy weather, let's just say I don't talk about shipwrecks very much anymore. When the November wind blows, we hunker down. Light the fire a little earlier in the big oven and thank our lucky stars to be working in such a warm cozy place and hope against hope that our friends and loved ones out on the water stay safe.
Dancing around the edges of loss makes you hyper aware of how fragile our time here can be. We go through the days conjuring joy, but always aware that the next tragedy is just around the corner. Such a moment occurred two weeks ago when our dear baker Abbey received the news her little brother was killed suddenly. Rachael and Jill immediately ran to her side, and everyone pitched in to cover shifts making us glad for the tight knit nature of our crew. We put out a jar for donations to help ease her travel. It was full when we poured the crumpled bills and hastily written notes from friends into her pockets and then Jill put her ever so carefully on the plane to her family in New Mexico. They will have a long road of recovery in the days ahead and we wish them all the love in the world to help get through it. As all those who have suffered loss in such a tragic way know, time is the only salve for such deep, deep sorrow. All the while we struggle to find words to sooth, to somehow make it right again. As it would happen, my friend Tom Bodett performed in Burlington, Vermont recently and his excellent personal story sheds a little light on our struggles with family, loss and what it's like to die. (Listen to it here click on the download button...it is the featured on The Moth.)

So we go into this holiday season with wounded hearts but grateful for the tasks at hand to keep us busy. The one constant in our lives is there is always bread to knead, people to feed, and today especially, pies to bake. To our friends and family near and far we encourage you all to celebrate the one thing we should all be thankful for...time.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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Our Oven

Thanks again, Alan...may you rest in peace!

in Memoriam...

Alan Scott of OVENCRAFTERS passed away at the end of January 2009. We were lucky to have Alan here to help build our oven...we offered it as a workshop and had many hands who were anxious to work alongside this man, who for most of us, is the god of brick oven baking. I'm so proud that his efforts on our behalf have not been wasted...we use our oven every day! Time to build that big brick oven in the sky...